[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 151 (Tuesday, August 6, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63965-63966]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-17258]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0038396; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Autry Museum of the American 
West, Los Angeles, CA

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and 
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Autry Museum of the American West 
(Southwest Museum Collection) has completed an inventory of human 
remains and associated funerary objects and has determined that there 
is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and associated 
funerary objects and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in 
this notice.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects in this notice may occur on or after September 5, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Karimah Richardson, M.Phil., RPA, Associate Curator of 
Anthropology and Repatriation Supervisor, Autry Museum of the American 
West, 4700 Western Heritage Way, Los Angeles, CA 90027, telephone (323) 
495-4203, email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice is published as part of the 
National Park Service's administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA. 
The determinations in this notice are the

[[Page 63966]]

sole responsibility of the Autry Museum of the American West and 
additional information on the determinations in this notice, including 
the results of consultation, can be found in the inventory or related 
records. The National Park Service is not responsible for the 
determinations in this notice.

Abstract of Information Available

    Based on the information available, human remains representing, at 
least, two individuals have been reasonably identified. No associated 
funerary objects are present. The human remains (17.C.20 and 17.C.121) 
were collected from San Miguel Island, Channel Islands, in Santa 
Barbara County, CA, exact site is unknown. Cultural material was 
``found in collections'' with no information other than San Miguel 
Island, thus date collected or how the human remains came to the 
Southwest Museum (now part of the Autry Museum) is unknown.
    Based on the information available, human remains representing, at 
least, one individual has been reasonably identified. The one 
associated funerary object is one bag of soil. The human remains 
(1760.G.29) were collected from Santa Cruz Island, Channel Islands, in 
Santa Barbara County, CA. at an unknown date by Mr. Lawrence W. 
Rundell. His mother, Mrs. William A. Mendel, gifted the cultural 
material to the Southwest Museum in 1963. Per museum records, Mr. L. W. 
Rundell ``found the human remains on one of the Channel Islands (prob. 
Santa Cruz), but we cannot be sure'', at an unknown date.
    Based on the information available, human remains representing at 
least nine individuals have been reasonably identified. The one 
associated funerary object is one mussel shell fragment. The human 
remains (421.G.534 and 421.G.535) were collected from the Northern 
Channel Islands, in Santa Barbara County, CA by Mr. George Wharton 
James at unknown date(s). Museum records states ``Chumash 
Archaeological Material'' with no indication of which site or island 
for any of the human remains. Mr. James wife and his stepdaughter 
gifted the cultural materials to the Southwest Museum in 1932.
    Based on the information available, human remains representing, at 
least, two individuals have been reasonably identified. No associated 
funerary objects are present. The human remains (342.G.1, 342.G.2 and 
342.G. 3) were collected from Rincon Point (CA-SBa-1), in Santa Barbara 
County, CA. by Mr. Martin R. Westcott and his wife. The cultural 
material was collected before it became part of Rincon Point State 
Beach. Mr. and Mrs. Westcott gifted the cultural material to Southwest 
Museum in 1924.
    Based on the information available, human remains representing at 
least, one individual has been reasonably identified. The three 
associated funerary objects are one shell pendant fragment, one shell 
(missing), and one worked faunal bone fragment incised. The human 
remains (1052.G.37) and associated funerary objects were collected from 
the Indian cemetery portion of Rincon Point (CA-SBa-1), in Santa 
Barbara County, CA by Mr. Harry Clayton Davis as part of the 
Archaeology Society of Southern California (ASSC) excavation at Rincon 
Point. The Archaeology Society of Southern California (ASSC) was 
established circa 1920s and was a non-professional group. Mrs. Harry 
Clayton Davis gifted the cultural material to the Southwest Museum in 
1946. The Chumash village of Shuku and cemetery are located at Rincon 
Point. There are two site ages for Rincon Point: The Early Period 
(5,000 to 6,000 B.P.) and the early Middle Period (ca. 2,150-2,750 
B.P.).
    Based on the information available, human remains representing, at 
least, one individual has been reasonably identified. No associated 
funerary objects are present. The human remains (871.G.68) were 
collected from an unknown site in the Santa Barbara region in Santa 
Barbara County, CA. by Miss Elizabeth Mason at an unknown date. Miss 
Elizabeth Mason gifted the cultural objects to the Southwest Museum in 
1954.

Cultural Affiliation

    Based on the information available and the results of consultation, 
cultural affiliation is reasonably identified by the geographical 
location or acquisition history of the human remains and associated 
funerary objects described in this notice.

Determinations

    The Autry Museum of the American West has determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of 16 individuals of Native American ancestry.
     The five objects described in this notice are reasonably 
believed to have been placed intentionally with or near individual 
human remains at the time of death or later as part of the death rite 
or ceremony.
     There is a reasonable connection between the human remains 
and associated funerary objects described in this notice and the Santa 
Ynez Band of Chumash Mission Indians of the Santa Ynez Reservation, 
California.

Requests for Repatriation

    Written requests for repatriation of the human remains and 
associated funerary objects in this notice must be sent to the 
authorized representative identified in this notice under ADDRESSES. 
Requests for repatriation may be submitted by:
    1. Any one or more of the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian 
organizations identified in this notice.
    2. Any lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian 
organization not identified in this notice who shows, by a 
preponderance of the evidence, that the requestor is a lineal 
descendant or a culturally affiliated Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian 
organization.
    Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects 
in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after September 5, 2024. 
If competing requests for repatriation are received, the Autry Museum 
of the American West must determine the most appropriate requestor 
prior to repatriation. Requests for joint repatriation of the human 
remains and associated funerary objects are considered a single request 
and not competing requests. The Autry Museum of the American West is 
responsible for sending a copy of this notice to the Indian Tribes and 
Native Hawaiian organizations identified in this notice.
    Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 
25 U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.10.

    Dated: July 25, 2024.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-17258 Filed 8-5-24; 8:45 am]
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